


Covered in Roses

by Time_Thief



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-27
Updated: 2020-07-27
Packaged: 2021-03-06 07:01:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,502
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25559248
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Time_Thief/pseuds/Time_Thief
Summary: Prior to the Fortune Cup, Carly breaks into the Arcadia Movementit goes about as well as you'd expect.
Relationships: Izayoi Aki/Carly Nagisa
Kudos: 2





	Covered in Roses

**Author's Note:**

> Written for day 5 of Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's Month 2020

Okayokayokay. Breathe. Breathe, Carly! Now was not the time to freak out! Sneaking into cults was an everyday feat for legendary reporters such as I! I glanced around at the Arcadia Movement members in their puffy robes. No way this place _wasn’t_ a cult, right?

Pretty confident of them to put their HQ smack dab in the middle of New Domino City. You’d think it smarter to put it off in the middle of nowhere. Heck, they were only a block from Sector Security’s main office! It’s almost like they wanted to taunt everyone.

Oh. The way they recruited psychics was by saying they’d be at home and make the world their home. Having a building as bold as this only furthered that notion. Whoever ran the joint must’ve been a smart cookie, eh? I ducked my head lower. Sure hoped I wouldn’t run into him!

My goal was to see the Black Rose Witch: Akiza Izinski. Word on the street was that an invitation to the upcoming Fortune Cup was extended to her! The most dangerous psychic in the world, name listed to be the reason for countless deaths – Director Godwin chose _her_ to be a frontrunner duelist.

Aaaand guess who’d be a frontrunner reporter once she had an exclusive interview with the one and only Black Rose Witch? Meee!

I’d already bribed a newer recruit with yaki onigiri to “borrow” their robes. The thing was a bit tight on me and, sure, it showed a bit too much ankle, but- oh, God. In creepy cult logic, did that make me some sort of irredeemable whore? Was anyone giving me scornful looks? I peered around.

Nobody paid me any attention. Whew! Good thing I retained that ability from ordinary life!

Okay, first choice of the investigation. Elevator or stairs? Most chose to go by elevator, which there were four of. I waited until I had a chance to take one alone. There was a directory on the right wall. Naturally, the dorms weren’t labeled by names. Akiza had to be important. She’d be somewhere high.

The topmost floor held the Visionary’s office and was labeled as such, but the rooms around his office were unlisted. I’d bet Akiza would be around there. He’d want his best pupil close! Even if not, surely I’d find the most interesting subjects up there!

My pulse was hammering by the time the elevator _ding_ ed. There weren’t any armed guards asking my business. Good thing that wouldn’t be a problem this time! Getting smacked by the butt of a gun got tiring after, ehh, three times? Four times.

If only boss paid me based on effort.

Whatever! Stick to the now! The top floor had spare few rooms, and I was staying farrr away from the Visionary’s. I cupped my ear to doors but heard nothing. On the third I checked, muffled voices came through. Footsteps neared. I dove into the shadows of a nearby abstract statue.

A man with a swoosh of burgundy hair slammed the door shut behind him. He scanned the halls like a practiced bodyguard performing an ocular check. He strode to the Visionary’s office and disappeared behind its door.

Geez. That _must_ have been him – the elusive leader of Arcadia! Okayokay, and if he was talking to someone and came out of that door…

I opened it a crack and slipped inside. The soft _click_ of the door closing behind me stole the attention of the girl in the room, whose walls had oblong pods pushed against them.

The woman was nothing short of spellbinding. Her chocolate eyes caught a soft shine from the illumination of the open pod beside her. Scarlet bangs framed her face, and her long, red hair brushed her shoulders. A black wetsuit was clutched in her hands. Her clothes were in a bundle by her feet, and it looked like I mayyy have walked in on her about to take off her bra and panties.

“Uhhhhhhh,” I said. She. Had. A. Body. Her mouth was open slightly, which allowed a perfect view of her full lips, and now they were closing, and now she looked angry. Very, very, very angry.

Her elbow snapped back as she grabbed her duel disk from a shelf behind her. Her finger glanced the top card. A black blur threw me back. My shoulders slammed against the wall, and tendrils held me there. Sharp items attached to the tendrils stabbed into me. Warm liquid wet my skin where the points touched – blood? Definitely blood.

I forced myself to look at whatever had assaulted me. It was her ace, her bloom of doom, the monster whose appearance spelled death for her opponents: Black Rose Dragon. The thorns of its vines had cut me open as they forced me up and against the wall. Rose petals drifted through the air.

“ _Who_ are you,” Akiza demanded. “No one comes to this floor unless they’re visiting Sayer. Some low-life like you is snooping. You’re not one of us. We have _respect_. Tell me who you are or say good-by to your throat.”

I gulped. Her words were scary and all, but she still hadn’t put on clothes. I blushed. I’m sorry, okay? I couldn’t help it! She’s pretty dangit! I said, “Uhhh! My name’s Carly! Pleasepleaseplease forgive me! It’s my first day and I’m lost!”

Darn! I wasn’t supposed to give out my real name!

“You expect me to buy that?”

The rumble in her words reminded me of an animal’s growl. A lot of people saw psychics as feral versions of humans. I was firmly against that view, but a tinge of doubt plagued my vision of them. “D-don’t hurt me, please.”

“ _Don’t_?” Black Rose Dragon’s tendrils tightened. The thorns serrated more of my skin. I screamed. Akiza’s expression was manic. “I could keep you as a pet. You’ll be my human test subject whenever I need a new duel strategy! How does that sound?”

“I-if that’s true.” I bit my lip. Tears pricked the corners of my eyes. “I could at least spend more time with you.”

The Dragon’s hold loosened. Akiza said, “…With me?”

“It’s true!” I hesitated. Saying this would mean blowing my cover and maaaybe dying? But she seemed so hopeful! “I’m not a psychic. I came here because I want to know more about you! I can’t believe you’re as horrible as they say you are!”

The hold further loosened. My shoes touched the carpet. Blood stained my borrowed robes. Akiza’s eyes were unfocused. “What… do they say?”

“Oh, uhhh!” Was she sheltered? Her innocent look was too adorable. “You don’t need to know. You seem sweet! Other than the whole-”

She nodded. “I’ve had members try to sneak a peek on me before, so I reacted- I’m sorry. I’ll grab gauze and ointment. I’ll take you to my room so he doesn’t find you.”

Akiza threw her clothes on and rushed me into a room on the opposite side of the floor. She told me she’d be a second and ran out. I glanced around. The place reminded me of my college dorm.

The window had a view of office buildings and giant advertisement screens. Must’ve been crazy bright at night. Oh. There, by the window, she had a pair of plants: a cactus and an African violet. The petals showed a stunning purple.

The door flew open. Akiza struggled to balance several bottles in her hand. She said, “She said these will work. Take it off.”

“Huh?”

“Your robe.”

“Wha?”

“How else can I clean you up?”

Guh. It was only fair, I guessed. But I was so mehh, and she was so…

My robe fell in a pile around my feet. She at least flattered me by scanning my body up and down. She dabbed a washcloth in a clear liquid from one of the bottles and pressed it to my wounds. I winced. She retracted it, and her brows pushed inward. “I’m sorry.”

“It- it’s okay! I’m a big girl!”

That got her to laugh. God, her laugh! She cleaned up the tears and I was better about not flinching. She wrapped me up using a mix of gauze and adhesive bandages. She was, um, really gentle? No wonder the plants grew so well under her care. I said, “I love the violets.”

“Me, too. I love my children equally.”

“Yeah? Do they have names?”

“Charlie and Hayato,” Akiza said.

“They don’t really go together.”

“The cactus is American and gets an American name.”

“Aren’t they African violets?”

“I don’t know any African names!” She pouted. “Is this an interrogation? Are you actually a police officer?”

I had to laugh at the pouty face. Like, it was so freakin’ adorable I wanted to take a picture and never lose it forever. I said, “Uh, would you mind if I was able to stay here longer?”

Her eyes searched mine. The slant of daylight from the window swirled in them. She said, “That’d be lovely.”


End file.
